“Six-shot Samurai? You had a kid with Six-shot Samurai?” Jolly Bar was incredulous. “Man, there were so much speculation on what happened to her back then and that was you? You were the one who retired her?”
“I didn’t retire her.” Sweet Fist objected. “She was a mark. We had some fun together, and…an accident happened.”
“That’s one way of looking at it. An accident that caused her to retire!” Jolly Bar said with a laugh.
Sweet Fist replied with a middle finger salute and Jennifer had to stop herself from putting her hand in her face. Less than a day, and she was already questioning why her father let Jolly Bar into the Sweet Crew. As the two old men banter, a soft chuckle from the side told Jennifer some people thought this to be a funny scene.
After the closure of the two Gaps, her father had called for an executive meeting to take stock of the situation, and everyone was here. Jennifer looked at the small group around her. Bradley Brown, Mister Black, James Walker, Owlgirl, and the latest additional to their group, Deion. Jennifer took a glance at her half-brother and wondered what the others thought about Mindpusher’s replacement. Sweet Fist and Deion had kept their relations a secret from the crew, with Jennifer being one of the few exceptions. Officially, the Sweet Crew has an informal alliance with the Quiet Inn, with The Inn cancelling the contract on Sweet Fist, in return for her father teaching a member of the Inn the method to turn someone into a mystic warrior. It might even be true. Jennifer had no idea why Deion was staying behind.
Looking at the group, Jennifer couldn’t help but remember the time she called for a meeting. When her father was hurt, Jennifer had taken over the running of the Sweet Crew and called for a meeting of their executives. The atmosphere back then was far different than what it was now. Back then, everyone was nervous and scared. Now, people were relaxed and chuckling at the comedy act of the two old villains.
Jennifer wondered if that was why the two were doing it.
However, Jennifer wants to get down to business. The school had called and informed Jennifer that everyone was safe, but the mother in her wanted to hold Zachary and Xavier in her arms. The sooner they were done here, the faster she can get back to her sons.
The Sweet Crew owned a few properties, and the group was holding their meeting in a refurnished flat in one of their apartment complexes. Not the most villainous of meeting places, but the room was well-furnished. There was a large desk in one corner that her father was sitting behind, and several leather chairs scattered about. On one wall was a giant television and when Jennifer pressed a button on her tablet, the giant television turned on.
The screen showed a male news anchor sitting behind a long desk in a studio. Jennifer recognized him as Stan Bendis, a well-known news anchor in the Alliance of Champions. On the top right of the screen was a logo with the text ‘Imagine News’ below it.
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“Good afternoon everyone, I am Stan Bendis, and this is Imagine News. Our top story this evening is the continued opening of Gaps throughout the world. Today, Gaps had been reported over several areas in the world of Nexus. Most of the Gaps reported were over unpopulated areas, with the Captains of Justice reporting one Gap opening five kilometers below the surface of the seas near Freebooter Sanctuary. The continuation of the Gap openings has many worried that this is just the start in a wave of openings and we, here at Imagine News, will continue to report further development as it happens. For now, we have a report nearer to home.”
The screen was then spilt in two, showing Bendis in a studio on the left, and a female news reporter standing along a street on the right. Jennifer winced at the appearance of Indra Chambers, a reporter who once did a hit piece on her father. Stan Bendis continued.
“Today, at approximately ten-thirty in the morning, two Gaps were reported over Velocity City. The Nexus Accord was activated, and the heroes and villains in the city were in combat with monsters that appeared through the Gaps. Right now, we have Indra Chambers reporting on sight over at Velocity City. Good evening, Indra, what can you tell us?”
Indra Chambers gave a big smile to the camera. “Good afternoon, Stan. Today, local sensors with Velocity City picked up weird energy fluctuations at around ten-thirty in the morning outside the city. Local forces were dispatched to check on the area where the fluctuations were reported and at ten forty-nine, the first Gap was confirmed. The Champion of the city, Thundersky, was dispatched, along with heroes from Velocity Tower and various local hero groups. At eleven in the morning, a second Gap appeared within Velocity City, and the Nexus Accord was activated. Monsters were coming out of both Gaps, and heroes and villains engaged them in battle at both locations. Local heroes, scientists and magic-users managed to close the Gaps at twelve-twenty-nine in the afternoon, and the Nexus Accord was deactivated about an hour later.”
“Indra, reports have it that the Nexus Accord was only activated after the appearance of the second Gap. Did Velocity Tower give a reason for that?”
“Yes, they did. According to the press release, the first Gap was located outside the city, and that was the reason why the Accord was not activated. The heroes managed to prevent monsters from the first Gap from entering the city, but once the second Gap opened, Velocity City became an active combat zone, and the Nexus Accord was immediately activated. Monsters came out of the second Gap in the north district of the city. Heroes set up a perimeter around the district and certain heroes and villains were dispatched into the district to rescue trapped civilians. The brave volunteers managed to rescue some of the trapped civilians, and together, the heroes and villains of Velocity City managed to prevent the monsters from breaching the perimeter.”
A small box appeared at the top of the television screen showing clips of various heroes and villains fighting the monsters. Dragon Knight, one of the heroes in Velocity Tower, releasing the spirit dragons in his armour against a mass of monsters. A small group of heroes shooting at monsters behind a barricade, and also, her father, Six-shot Samurai and Night Leopard fighting against a group of monsters. A cheer rang out among the Sweet Crew at the last clip. Unaware of the cheers, the two reporters continue their report.